Brno: Sumo Power GT event summary

Another podium for Sumo Power GT in Brno
Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck claimed their second podium finish of
the weekend, when they drove their Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R to an
excellent third in the Championship race at Brno Circuit, round ...

Another podium for Sumo Power GT in Brno

Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck claimed their second podium finish of
the weekend, when they drove their Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R to an
excellent third in the Championship race at Brno Circuit, round three of
the FIA GT1 World Championship. For team-mates Warren Hughes and Jamie
Campbell-Walter it was not the day they were hoping for, when any chance
of a good result was eliminated on the opening lap after another car made
contact in turn four, the impact puncturing the Nissan's left rear
tyre.

Dry and sunny conditions greeted the teams for the main race on the
programme at the challenging 5.4 kilometre track in the Czech Republic.
After the Qualifying Race on Saturday, Krumm and Dumbreck in car 23 lined
up third, whilst Hughes and Campbell-Walter started 21st and on the back
row, having retired on the final lap when debris from the track broke a
brake pipe.

As cars blasted down the pit straight for the rolling start, Krumm
immediately made up a place and into second behind the Maserati of Andrea
Bertolini - local driver Tomas Enge making a surprisingly slow getaway in
his Aston Martin. However, it was a different story for Hughes in car 22.
Having fought his way past four cars by the time he reached turn three,
he was hit from behind as he entered turn four, the impact puncturing the
left-rear tyre.

Trying to keep the car under control Hughes battled on, only to spin and
briefly visit a gravel trap when he arrived at turn 10. He therefore had
no choice but to come into the pits for a new wheel. Two laps later he
was called in again, the team wanting to ensure that the pieces of broken
bodywork were not going to cause any further damage.

Then, after an incident on lap three, the safety car was deployed for two
laps while the track was cleared. When racing resumed, Krumm maintained
his position behind Bertolini, but a lap later the Maserati driver was
signalled into the pits for a drive-through penalty, having gathered too
much speed before crossing the line during the rolling start.

This meant that Krumm went straight into the lead and continued to head
the field when the safety car was deployed for a second time. During this
period the clock ticked past the 25-minute distance and consequently the
pit-stop window opened.

Seizing the advantage to carry out the compulsory driver-swap and
tyre-change whilst cars were circulating slowly, most of the field
decided to pit at the end of lap nine, with Dumbreck taking over from
Krumm for the second stint in car 23. After the Sumo Power GT team fitted
the new set of wheels in one of the fastest times ever, precious seconds
were lost as Dumbreck went to exit the garage area, the car in the
neighbouring pit was parked too close to get past without Dumbreck being
pushed back for a second attempt.

As he re-joined the track, the Sumo Power GT team were frustrated to see
that he was now in third behind the Ford GT of Thomas Mutsch in first and
the Aston Martin of Darren Turner in second, all three of them separated
by just fractions of a second.

The remaining half of the race saw the leading trio locked in battle and,
although the gap between Mutsch, Turner and Dumbreck rarely measured more
than a second, all three cars and drivers were so evenly matched that
there was unlikely to be a change of positions without someone making a
particularly brave move. Even though Dumbreck got close to Turner, the
opportunity to pass was never really there and subsequently, positions
remained the same to the end of the race.

Although a lap down, it didn't stop Campbell-Walter from executing
a number of his trade-mark overtaking manoeuvres during the course of his
stint. And, as other competitors threw themselves into the gravel and
other run-off areas around the circuit, he eventually crossed the line in
17th place.

However, although not achieving the result they had hoped for with car
22, the team were delighted to see that Hughes and Campbell-Walter were
lapping at a top-ten pace, even with the Nissan carrying 40 kilos of
success ballast following its victory last time out at Silverstone.

After yet another successful weekend, the Sumo Power GT team not only
take with it the trophies for third place, but also a considerable amount
of data and information with which it will plan its attack for round four
of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Paul Ricard in France on 2 - 4 July.

Team quotes

Michael Krumm - Driver Car 23
"I got a great start and the car ran really well, so I was able to
easily maintain position when I was at the front. I then tried to pull
out a gap before the pit stop, but the safety car period put an end to
that. Of course it was a shame to have the delay in the pits, but this
was not down to our guys - they did a great job - it was just getting
past the car parked next to us that was the problem."

Peter Dumbreck - Driver Car 23
"If someone had said we were going to score two podium results this
weekend I would have been delighted. Obviously, when the win was in our
grasp it is frustrating not to have got it, but it was important to get a
good finish and score points today and I'm extremely pleased to
have done that.."

Warren Hughes - Driver Car 22
"It was always going to be a tough task to get a good result from
the back of the grid, but after our charge through the field yesterday we
proved there could be a chance of a top-ten result. Unfortunately, the
early puncture meant our race was over before it began, but we were still
able to lap at a competitive pace."

Jamie Campbell-Walter - Driver Car 22
"It wasn't the weekend we were looking for after our win at
Silverstone, but the team can certainly take something positive away with
it as the car ran extremely well - even with the 40 kilos of ballast.
With this being removed for the next round I am sure we will be back
racing for the leading positions again."

Allen Orchard - Team Manager
"It was another weekend when everyone in the team did a great job.
All four drivers drove really well and another podium finish is a
fantastic result for such a new operation. It is perhaps ironic that our
early success has made us set the bar high so soon, but for any team,
winning is always the goal."

James Rumsey - Team Principal
"Third is a great result and I'm delighted to see one of our
cars on the podium for the third race in succession. It was a shame that
we could not have retained the lead following the pit stop today, but we
now know we have the pace to consistently run at the front of the
field."